Throughout our lives, we’ve been taught Halloween is the one day a year when we can be anyone we want with absolutely no consequences. As children, we were given permission to go through our mothers’ closets and not get punished for messing up piles of neatly stacked clothes. Our parents laughed at our childish antics as we danced around the living room in our brand new princess and superhero costumes. Any other day of the year, if we got too into being a princess or a pirate, we were told to stop misbehaving. But on Halloween we were free to be whomever we chose. As we raced down the streets collecting candy we couldn’t possibly consume the entirety of, we were as free as birds. Halloween was in fact so much fun that on Nov. 1, we’d begin planning for next year’s disguise.
Years later, our love for dressing up has not diminished in the least. In fact, it has evolved as much as we have, arguably becoming a sexual holiday where women are encouraged even more than usual to dress revealingly. It is important to understand that women do not feel objectified by wearing these “barely there” costumes. Women who do not want to are by no means forced into a typical college Halloween. On the other hand, the women who do wear these costumes often wear them not as a favor for the men around them, but because they want to feel liberated in a way they ordinarily may not.
Throughout the year, we attend a plethora of parties, but they seem to pale in comparison to All Hallow’s Eve. Entering a Halloween store is an adventure that only happens once a year. When else is there a store open that displays our fantasies on the shelves and then invites us to try on each of these transformations? Women’s costume choices are endless. You want to be naughty but nice? Be a schoolgirl. You want to be adventurous? Be a pirate princess. You want to be just plain naughty? Embody a she-devil. Our inner vixen is invited, even encouraged to come out and play in whatever transformation we choose.
For this one night, be who you’ve always dreamed of being. When you go out, don’t judge anyone on what they’re wearing. Do like we did when we were kids: admire other costumes. You may be surprised that next year, you really do want to be that beer girl who was dancing next to you.
On Halloween we are all given an incredible opportunity to be whomever we want to be and we are liberated because of it. You can do whatever you want in your temporary façade. So have fun, be safe, and be someone else for just a few hours. The opportunities for discovery are endless and the door is open.